Cream the butter and blend in the white sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Stir until just blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and allow it to cool.

Variation: Blueberry Cake; Add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to your dry ingredients and stir in 1 cup fresh blueberries into the batter before you bake it. Cut it into squares while it is still hot.

I had a 12in x 18in x 2in cake pan so I had to quadruple this recipe and lowered the bake temp to 325 degrees and baked it about 15 minutes longer. If you are going to bake a 9in x 13in you can just double the recipe and keep everything else the same.

Using the whisk attachment on your electric mixer, mix the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and milk or water at low speed until smooth and creamy. Add butter, one slice at a time, until incorporated. Add shortening and whip at highest speed 10-12 minutes, until almost doubled in volume.

I doubled this recipe just to make sure I had enough for each color and I had plenty left over too. I filled and frosted the cake first with plain white frosting. Then with what was left over I dyed about half green for the background shape. Then with what was left I dyed about half of that orange for the mask (you can dye that blue, red or purple for any of the other turtles).

Then with what was left I saved out about a 1/2 cup (1/4 cup white and 1/4 cup red). After that I dyed everything that was left black.

I printed out a picture I got online as the outline. I cut around the border and laid it on the cake. Then using a toothpick I drew around the outline. I was then able to pipe on the outline and fill it in. I cut it down from there to the black border, then in to three pieces so that the top, mask and bottom were all separate pieces. Then using a toothpick again I drew all the new borders. I outlined everything in the proper colors using my pieces as a guide. From there I was able to do all the detail work free hand.